Bartlesville Barbeque Joint Open For Free Christmas Meals

Most places are closed on Christmas Day, but a Bartlesville barbecue joint is opening its doors to offer up a free meal. The staff at Dink’s is hopeful the move catches on as a new holiday tradition.

A staple of Bartlesville for more than 40 years, Dink’s has been closed every Christmas Day except for this year. Offering up free meals to anyone who wants one has been years in the making.

“Sometime around COVID we tried to get it done, couldn’t get it done,” said Landon Curd, owner. “This year we finally made it happen.”

The crowds showed up to take advantage of the free hot meals.

“Maybe a little more than we were expecting,” said Curd. “I think we went through 400 meals in the first hour. We’ve been kind of taken by surprise and very happy by the turnout.”

Among those in line included Tammy Darbro, who grabbed 10 meals for her family.

“Being on call, I may have to get out and leave my house on Christmas Day,” she said. “This still makes it to where we can have a little bit of Christmas without all the stress and cleanup and everything.”

Curd says the free meals are made possible because of his staff and family who decided to come and help out.

“It’s a family business, so to have my family here helping me out on Christmas Day is just kind of a natural feeling for us here,” he said.

With the first year of free meals such a success, Curd is hopeful to make this an annual tradition.